Thinking about Maura's feelings when she's mocked by Jane, I came up with this one-shot. I hope you like it. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli and Isles, bla bla bla...
"Did you know that Euskera is spoken in the Basque Country, in Northern Spain and comes from…"
"Not again, Maura! I haven't got the time or the interest to listen to your fun facts so please, just watch the movie in silence!"
Maura didn't say a thing and remained that way the rest of the evening. Jane was so distracted by the movie and her pizza that didn't notice the change of mood in her best friend. By the time they were saying goodbye Maura already had her usual smile as if nothing had happened, so Jane went home.
The next day, Tommy appeared at the Division One Café while Maura and Jane were talking to Angela and he joined them.
"Good morning!"
"Hello honey! What are you doing here?"
"Ma, I was just passing by…Well, actually I wanted to talk to you." He then looked awkwardly at Maura and Jane took the lead.
"Maura, would you please go to the morgue? I think Tommy has family issues."
"Of course, see you later." Always smiling, that was Maura, but inside her heart was breaking because she was always excluded by the Rizzoli's when something important came up. She knew they weren't her actual family and in fact she was repeating that in her mind like a mantra not to forget it, but it still hurt to think that she was left alone, again.
After a while, Jane went to visit Maura to the morgue and it seemed like the detective was in a bad mood so Maura asked her.
"What is it? Is Tommy in trouble?"
"No, but if he was I don't think you could help him anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"Sorry, I know it didn't sound right. It's just that Tommy is a troublemaker and he will always be so you better don't get too close to him."
"If you say so."
"Yes, I do. What can you say about the victim?"
"Not many things, I'm waiting for the results of some tests I run but I still don't have a cause of death."
"What? And what have you been doing all this time?"
"What do you think? I've been working on the body."
"Come on Maura, you must have a cause of death by now."
"No, I don't. I would only be guessing and I won't do that."
"Of course, because you break in hives. Great."
"You know Jane? I'm tired of your constant attitude. Please let me do my job and you just do yours."
"What did I do?"
"I can't believe you haven't even noticed. Anyway, please leave, I need to do my job so you can finally have a cause of death."
"Ok, see you later." Maura didn't answer. She was very annoyed with her best friend and lately it had been too much to bear. When she was finished with the autopsy she left instructions to her team to send the lab results to detective Rizzoli and she went home.
After making a tea and thinking further about it, she decided to take some vacation and go to the beach. She needed a warm place and some sun to clear her mind. And she especially needed to take some distance from Jane. She was definitely her best friend and she would never leave her, but her 'sense of humor' sometimes was too bitter and Maura really needed some time alone.
After calling the stupid doctor Pike for her temporary replacement, she booked a flight that evening to some place in California and prepared her suitcase. She wrote a note for Angela and Jane and called a cab to go to the airport. Before she knew it, she was already flying to the other part of the country.
When Jane received the lab results without news of Maura she found it strange, so she headed to the morgue. Susie was there but no trace of Maura, so Jane asked the senior criminalist where the ME was. The answer was a little unsettling but Jane kept calm. Maura didn't explain to her team why she was leaving so early but they knew she was at home.
Jane picked her mother up and they headed to Maura's. When they found the house empty Jane's cop gut kicked in and she started searching all the rooms without success. But Angela went to the kitchen and found the note. When she read it and gasped, she called her daughter.
"Jane! Jane, come here!"
"What is it ma?"
"Look!"
Jane took the note and started reading:
Jane, I love you a lot but these last days have been too much for me and I need some space to clear my mind. Don't worry for me, I'll be fine; I just went on a trip and I'll be back soon, I promise. Please don't be annoyed, I really needed this time to be alone. When I'm back we'll talk. Take care.
Angela, please, would you take care of Bass? I know you like him too and he will be delighted with your care. Thank you and see you soon.
I love you both,
Maura.
Jane and Angela looked at each other speechless until the younger Rizzoli understood.
"Oh my God." She put her hand on her mouth.
"What is it Janie?"
"This morning Maura snapped at me because I made one of my usual comments on her job. She looked annoyed but I didn't think it was important until now. I hurt Maura, ma." Angela took her daughter's hand and then hugged her.
ONE WEEK LATER
Maura was on her way from the airport. This time alone had done her good and she really was looking forward to seeing Jane. The only problem was that they hadn't talked in a whole week and she didn't know if her best friend would be pissed at her or not. She would take her chances and after leaving her luggage at home, she would go to Jane's apartment.
Maura opened the door and saw Bass eating some organic spinach Angela had left him so she was relieved to see that the old Rizzoli had done her the favor she asked for. She went to her bedroom and left the suitcase. Before going to see Jane, she decided to make some tea and relax a bit after the long flight.
She was in the process of pouring water into the teapot when Angela opened the door while talking to someone; it was Jane. They went silent but Angela went to hug Maura. Jane, on the other hand, didn't move from her spot and she looked annoyed.
"Maura, honey, how was your trip?"
"It was fine Angela, thank you. And thank you for taking so good care of Bass, you are the best." She showed her best smile.
Meanwhile, Jane was watching Maura. She looked more stunning than ever because her usually pale skin was a little tanned and her eyes even looked greener. In her inside Jane was debating whether to act pissed off at Maura or just take her in her arms. It had been a very long week because Maura's absence was too heavy for her but they really needed to talk, so she just reacted coldly.
"Hi Maura, you look great." Her words were kind but her actions weren't and Maura noticed.
"Jane, I'm sorry I left that way but I needed some space to think. Look, we need to talk; will you two stay for dinner?"
"Oh no sweetie, you two need to talk, I'll just have dinner in the guesthouse."
"Ok, thank you Angela. Good night."
"Good night."
Silence fell like a rock in the room. It was one of the most awkward moments they have had so far and someone needed to break the ice.
"Jane, I know you are mad at me but if you let me explain you'll understand my reasons, I think."
"Oh, so you will finally trust me? I feel honored."
"You see? There's that attitude again! You wanna know why I left so suddenly? Because I'd had enough of being hurt by your comments. Yes, you hurt me Jane. It seems that you despise my knowledge and sometimes you treat me like a dumbass."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"The worst of all is that you don't even understand what I'm telling you. Maybe you will understand this. You hurt me Jane, period. Maybe it's so funny for you to constantly mock me and I wouldn't mind if it was another person because that was so usual in my life. Everyone made jokes about me and I didn't care because they were random people. But I do care for you; you are very important to me and it hurts my feelings to see that sometimes you just see me like a geek who talks nonsense all the time. Well, maybe I am but I thought you accepted me that way. In time I got used to your endless jokes and sarcasm, but sometimes it's too much to bear. I consider myself someone self-assured but it doesn't help me to be constantly mocked by the person I care most. I know sometimes it can be hard to be with me but I thought you were already used to who I am. Maybe I was wrong and if you don't want to hang out with me anymore I will understand. I just needed you to know how I feel."
Jane was in the verge of tears. She knew sometimes she could be an ass but she didn't know how much it was hurting her best friend. Maura was one of the most loving persons she knew and it hurt Jane to think that the ME wanted to take distance from her. Although she wanted to hug Maura tightly, she didn't have words to express herself so she just left.
Maura started crying. She thought by being so honest with Jane everything would go smoother between them but her best friend reacted so unexpectedly that she was heartbroken. Maybe it was better to not hang out again with her, but it meant a problem to Maura: she would be alone again. That was an unbearable feeling but she had to face it; that was her fate. After she was all cried out, she had a shower and went to bed without having dinner.
The next day she went back to work but avoided to meet Jane in the café or the station and went straight to the morgue. She couldn't help thinking of Jane but when she entered her office, she became the professional ME everyone knew and everything became secondary.
After doing some paperwork a corpse was wheeled in and she started the preliminaries of the autopsy. Checking the wounds she concluded that this male in his mid-fourties was stabbed repeatedly to death. She found up to 14 stab wounds but one was especially lethal. She started writing down these observations when the door to the morgue opened and Jane appeared. When Maura saw who it was she headed to her office not wanting to see Jane but the detective followed her.
"Please Maura, listen to me."
"There's no need to, it was crystal clear what you thought about what I told you last night. It seems that you don't care so just leave me alone, will you?"
"No I won't. Because I do care for you and I listened to you last night. It's just… It was so shocking to hear that from you that I didn't know what to say. I felt so ashamed that I hurt you so badly that I needed to think about how to apologize. And that's why I'm here. I need you to look at me, Maura."
Maura did as she was asked and looked at her best friend.
"This last week was total crap for me. I was lost with your sudden departure and I noticed that your absence hurt because you make me enjoy of life. When I'm out of work you are always there to remind me that the world isn't so crooked. My job would be even much harder if you weren't in my life and I would have already quit by now. I feel so at home with you that in time I took you for granted and that was my biggest mistake. I have no right to be an asshole with you but I'll have to ask you a favor; you'll have to remind me not to go there when I start with my attitude again. I know I won't help myself because it belongs to my personality. But I'll try harder to realize about that so you don't have to remind me every time. What I'm trying to say with all this rumbling is that I'll try to be a better person because of you. Maura Isles, geek, Chief Medical Examiner, genius and best friend, I need you in my life and I love you with all my heart. Will you forgive me?"
Maura heard Jane's speech stoically but she had to gulp hard when it was her turn to speak.
"You idiot!" Jane was startled by Maura's outburst. "Do you know how long I cried last night because of you? Come here knucklehead!" And they hugged longer than ever, relieved that they had each other again.